Alan Pardew is not always renowned for his humility, but the Newcastle United
manager admitted he would “certainly not be arrogant” enough to proclaim his
team are safe just yet.

In warning upwardly mobile clubs such as Saturday’s opponents and Swansea City
that competing in the Europa League undermines a team’s league form unless
they deepen their squads, Pardew added that he would not tolerate Newcastle
being this low in the table 12 months hence.

A week after his team followed their European exit with humiliation in the
Tyne-Wear derby, Newcastle responded with a first-half vibrancy that merited
more than